For Thanksgiving, we went to VT. Tammy, Lizzy, and Stas left after work on Wednesday. I drove up to VT Thanksgiving day after working. We had Thanksgiving dinner at Rachelle's house. On Friday, Tammy, Rachelle, Lizzy, and Vania went out for some Black Friday shopping. Rick, Renee and the girls came over to mom and dad's house for the day.
Saturday, I purchased a clock from Craigslist in South Burlington. Tammy, Rachelle, and I then visited some of the antique stores in the area. I purchased two clocks while Tammy and Rachelle bought some vintage Christmas ornaments. The cousins, Pop, and Tammy spent the evening playing Scattergories.
After church on Sunday, we headed back home.
Saturday, December 3, 2016
Friday, November 18, 2016
A Visit with Some Gangwers
On Friday, November 11, Tammy and I went to visit some of my dad's relatives and the area in Langhorne, PA . We took our time getting to our destination stopping to explore the small towns of Lambertville, NJ and New Hope, PA. Lambertville had more antique stores than New Hope while New Hope had more "boutique" shopping and restaurants. They both had very expensive on street parking. We visited on small shop in Lambertville that I had apprehensions about because its name made it sound expensive. Nothing had prices on it reaffirming in my mind things were expensive. The lady at the shop asked if there was anything we liked because everything was "cheap". I asked what cheap meant as everyone had their definition of cheap. Well, it turns out her and my definition of cheap matched. I picked up two mantle clocks for 30 dollars. That evening we had dinner at my Aunt Carol and Uncle John Bridge's house. My cousin Cindy was there and my Aunt Jane and cousin Jill came over. We spent the evening talking about the Gangwer family.
The next day Saturday we visited the city of Bristol, PA and did some shopping. We then headed over the river to Burlington, NJ to visit the town and shop at the antique mall there. We ended our travels in Columbus, NJ at the Columbus Farmers and Flea Market which is huge. We then headed back to Aunt Carol's house for dinner. They were having some excitement on their street as a man had barricaded himself in his house and was threatening to blow it up. The SWAT team and police set up directly across from Aunt Carol's house. Thankfully later that night there was a safe resolution to the matter with the police apprehending the individual with no one being injured . While at Aunt Carol's, she gave us some pictures and written information concerning the Gangwer family. Uncle John also let us look through the antiques his parents had gathered over the years. There were several mantle clocks as well as various clock parts that I was able to add to my collection.
We headed home Sunday making a stop in Stratford, CT at an antique mall that was a tad bit too expensive for us.
The next day Saturday we visited the city of Bristol, PA and did some shopping. We then headed over the river to Burlington, NJ to visit the town and shop at the antique mall there. We ended our travels in Columbus, NJ at the Columbus Farmers and Flea Market which is huge. We then headed back to Aunt Carol's house for dinner. They were having some excitement on their street as a man had barricaded himself in his house and was threatening to blow it up. The SWAT team and police set up directly across from Aunt Carol's house. Thankfully later that night there was a safe resolution to the matter with the police apprehending the individual with no one being injured . While at Aunt Carol's, she gave us some pictures and written information concerning the Gangwer family. Uncle John also let us look through the antiques his parents had gathered over the years. There were several mantle clocks as well as various clock parts that I was able to add to my collection.
We headed home Sunday making a stop in Stratford, CT at an antique mall that was a tad bit too expensive for us.
Saturday, October 29, 2016
Three Busy Weekends
Weekend One - October 7- 9 - Rachelle and Alan came down from VT to stay with us for the weekend. On Saturday, we continued our annual tradition of apple picking at Johnny Appleseeds (100 dollars worth) during the Columbus Day weekend. We then came home and peeled, cored, and sliced all the apples making 10 pies and 7 crisps that we gave to our pastors, neighbors, and took to work. We froze the apples we had left that will make us four apple pies for the holidays. We finished the day with a friendly game of poker.
Weekend Two - October 14 - 16 - AJ and Vania came down from VT to stay with us for the weekend. On Saturday, we went to lunch at Acapulco's. Then we went to Foster's Farm in South Windsor to do the fall rituals of the corn maze, drinking apple cider, and eating apple fritters. We also picked pumpkins and decorated them for Halloween.
Weekend Three - October 21 - 23 - We went to Bethel, ME for this weekend. My parents rented a two bedroom condo at the Bethel Inn. I took Friday off, and we took our time getting there stopping in White River Junction and St. Johnsbury, VT to do some antique shopping. That evening, we visited my dad's Aunt Judy to get some information on my grandmother's side of the family for the family tree I have been doing.
Saturday, we drove to Bridgeton, ME where we visited several shops and had dinner. We left on Sunday in the first snow fall of the year. We stopped on the way and explored the downtown shops of Littleton, NH.
Weekend Two - October 14 - 16 - AJ and Vania came down from VT to stay with us for the weekend. On Saturday, we went to lunch at Acapulco's. Then we went to Foster's Farm in South Windsor to do the fall rituals of the corn maze, drinking apple cider, and eating apple fritters. We also picked pumpkins and decorated them for Halloween.
Weekend Three - October 21 - 23 - We went to Bethel, ME for this weekend. My parents rented a two bedroom condo at the Bethel Inn. I took Friday off, and we took our time getting there stopping in White River Junction and St. Johnsbury, VT to do some antique shopping. That evening, we visited my dad's Aunt Judy to get some information on my grandmother's side of the family for the family tree I have been doing.
Saturday, we drove to Bridgeton, ME where we visited several shops and had dinner. We left on Sunday in the first snow fall of the year. We stopped on the way and explored the downtown shops of Littleton, NH.
Sunday, August 14, 2016
Another 50th Celebration
In February, Tammy's parents had their 50th wedding anniversary. We celebrated it as a family this August in Wisconsin. The IL grandparents rented a house on Power's Lake for a week with Tammy and I, Jaclyn and Blake, Stas and Lizzy, and Chad spending the week together. We arrived Friday afternoon after leaving CT early Thursday with a dead battery and spending the night in Elkhart, IN. Tammy's mom's family had their annual family reunion on Saturday which we all attended. Sunday, we attended church in Silver Lake and had visits from Tammy's Aunt Elaine and cousin Debbie who live in the area as well as Lizzy's old college roommate Abby and her husband Tony. Monday morning, we went fishing, kayaking, tried the stand-up boards but it was a bit too windy and the lake a bit too choppy, and used the sea doo. That evening, we went to a Milwaukee Brewers game and enjoyed a bowl of bratcho's and a bratwurst and made it to the jumbotron. The game went into the 12th inning before the Atlanta Braves won. Tuesday was picture day in "formal attire" and then t-shirts designed by Lizzy. That evening, Stas debuted his special picture presentation for the IL grandparents in honor of their 50 years of marriage. Wednesday, was a day spent by the lake, fishing, boating, swimming, and a visit by Tammy's Aunt Jennie. Thursday, the girls and their husbands ate their way through the WI state fair while Tammy, Chad, and I visited Lake Geneva and Delavan where we found several antique stores much to Chad's chagrin. Friday we left and stopped in Batavia, NY for the night returning to CT on Saturday.
All of our fishing trips run together. So I have put them here as their own paragraph. For the first day and a half, we fished the middle of the lake where Blake caught a perch and rock bass. I caught my only fish -- a sunfish. Stas caught his first fish a sunfish. The rest of the week, we fished the banks of the lake and had much greater success. Blake caught several pan fish and a bass or two. Stas also caught a bass. Chad reeled in a pan fish or two, a bass, and a Northern Pike. I almost hooked a Stas and have the proverbial story of the big one that got away.
I cannot get the slideshow to work. Google sucks. Please go to this link to see the photos.
https://goo.gl/photos/t8FNqh4zBGWSbh429
All of our fishing trips run together. So I have put them here as their own paragraph. For the first day and a half, we fished the middle of the lake where Blake caught a perch and rock bass. I caught my only fish -- a sunfish. Stas caught his first fish a sunfish. The rest of the week, we fished the banks of the lake and had much greater success. Blake caught several pan fish and a bass or two. Stas also caught a bass. Chad reeled in a pan fish or two, a bass, and a Northern Pike. I almost hooked a Stas and have the proverbial story of the big one that got away.
I cannot get the slideshow to work. Google sucks. Please go to this link to see the photos.
https://goo.gl/photos/t8FNqh4zBGWSbh429
Monday, July 18, 2016
July Get Together in VT July 2016
The Original Gang
The Gang and their spouses
The Gang's children/spouse/fiance/dog
Monday, June 27, 2016
The Progression
When the girls were little, Tammy would go to tag sales looking to purchase items such as clothes and toys for them. I did not go. I did not want to go. I enjoyed my home time on Saturdays. As the girls got older and Tammy's work schedule changed to every weekend, going to tag sales stopped and became a thing of the past.
Progress a decade or more, and the Saturday ritual of going to tag sales re-entered our life. With the coming of Jaclyn's wedding and then Lizzy's wedding occurring less than a year later, Tammy and I (yup, I started going reluctantly at first) started hitting up the tag sales for decorating items. We travelled the roads from one cardboard tag sale sign to the next, wherever they would lead us. We also discovered a tag sale app you could download on your phone to find them, and during the weekdays, Facebook has a local tag sale forum for people to post items for sale. Many a faux pearl necklace, broaches, fake flowers, books, two antique chests, a vintage suitcase, picture frames, vases, a china set, lace, doilies, and maps is a list of some of the things purchased for their bridal showers and weddings. On the forum, we have purchased for ourselves a brand new toilet still in the box, a vintage dresser, and some hanging pictures.
Well, the weddings are over, but the "tag saling" has not ended. In fact, it has progressed to visits to flea markets and many a trip around New England to antique malls/shops. We have visited Bellows Falls, Essex Junction, Jericho, South Burlington, Montpelier, and Barre, VT. We have gone to Salem, Hollis, Londonderry, and Manchester, NH. Here locally, we have visited Woodbury, New Hartford, Collinsville, East Windsor, Putnam, and Montville CT as well as Worcester, Lunenberg, and Palmer, MA and of course the big one of them all Brimfield.
Where we progress from here is anybody's guess. Only future blogs will tell the tale. Stay tuned.
Progress a decade or more, and the Saturday ritual of going to tag sales re-entered our life. With the coming of Jaclyn's wedding and then Lizzy's wedding occurring less than a year later, Tammy and I (yup, I started going reluctantly at first) started hitting up the tag sales for decorating items. We travelled the roads from one cardboard tag sale sign to the next, wherever they would lead us. We also discovered a tag sale app you could download on your phone to find them, and during the weekdays, Facebook has a local tag sale forum for people to post items for sale. Many a faux pearl necklace, broaches, fake flowers, books, two antique chests, a vintage suitcase, picture frames, vases, a china set, lace, doilies, and maps is a list of some of the things purchased for their bridal showers and weddings. On the forum, we have purchased for ourselves a brand new toilet still in the box, a vintage dresser, and some hanging pictures.
Well, the weddings are over, but the "tag saling" has not ended. In fact, it has progressed to visits to flea markets and many a trip around New England to antique malls/shops. We have visited Bellows Falls, Essex Junction, Jericho, South Burlington, Montpelier, and Barre, VT. We have gone to Salem, Hollis, Londonderry, and Manchester, NH. Here locally, we have visited Woodbury, New Hartford, Collinsville, East Windsor, Putnam, and Montville CT as well as Worcester, Lunenberg, and Palmer, MA and of course the big one of them all Brimfield.
Where we progress from here is anybody's guess. Only future blogs will tell the tale. Stay tuned.
Monday, May 2, 2016
NYC Weekend
On Saturday, April 23, Tammy and I along with my sister Rachelle and her husband Alan left early in the morning for a train ride into NYC for the weekend. This was the first time in the city for them, so they took the double decker bus tour around Manhattan to get the lay of the land. They stopped at the 9/11 Memorial and went to the observation tour at One World Trade Center. Tammy and I spent the day at the Tenement Museum taking the Shop Life, Sweatshop Workers, Hard Times, and Irish Outsiders tours. We ate dinner at an Asian Fusion restaurant Doka. We then headed uptown to meet Rachelle and Alan to watch the Broadway show School of Rock.
On Sunday, we had scheduled two walking tours. The first one was a three hour tour of the Brooklyn Bridge, Brooklyn Heights, and Dumbo. After that tour, we headed off to our two hour tour of SoHo, Little Italy, and China Town. We then took the subway back to Grand Central for the train ride home but first stopped at Shake Shack for dinner.
On Sunday, we had scheduled two walking tours. The first one was a three hour tour of the Brooklyn Bridge, Brooklyn Heights, and Dumbo. After that tour, we headed off to our two hour tour of SoHo, Little Italy, and China Town. We then took the subway back to Grand Central for the train ride home but first stopped at Shake Shack for dinner.
Wednesday, April 20, 2016
Our Trip to OR
On Saturday, April 9, Tammy and I headed to Boston, MA for our direct flight to Portland, OR to visit with Jaclyn and Blake for a week.
On Sunday, we attended both the morning and evening services at Riverside Baptist Church in Albany. They had a potluck after the morning service followed by an afternoon of volleyball.
Monday morning, we headed to Portland to do some sight seeing. We visited the Oregon Historical Museum, the Japanese Gardens, and then the International Rose Test Garden. We had lunch at a "cartlandia" set-up in downtown Portland fueling us up for our three hour walking tour of the city.
After the tour, we headed over the Coastal Mountains to the coast of Oregon for an overnight stay at Seaside. On Tuesday, we clammed in some pretty rough conditions of rain and wind resulting in a paltry take of 10 clams for our whole party. We ended the day on a better note by vising a salt water taffy store and purchasing two pounds of all kinds of flavored taffy.
Wednesday, we spent the day close to home in Albany, visiting several antique shops and stores. That evening there was a Riverside Baptist teen and college group get together. It was a catered event for Blake's birthday followed by a game of kickball.
Thursday was a rainy day, so we decided to go to Brownsville, OR to visit the Pioneer Museum followed by a drive to Lebanon where we walked the streets visiting their shops.
Friday saw the rain end, so we headed east over the Cascade Mountains through the Santiam Pass to visit Sisters OR and Bend OR. In Sisters, we had breakfast at Sisters Coffee and visited the many shops. We finished the city off with a milkshake from Sno Cap and got in the car for the trip to Bend, OR where we visited the High Desert Museum.
On Saturday, we went to Corvallis to their Farmer's Market and visited a few shops followed by lunch at an Indian restaurant. We ended our night at the Blake-famous Chinese restaurant -- Yummy House.
The visit ended Sunday with an early four in the morning trip to the airport to catch our flight back to Boston.
Pictures of our trip are posted to right.
On Sunday, we attended both the morning and evening services at Riverside Baptist Church in Albany. They had a potluck after the morning service followed by an afternoon of volleyball.
Monday morning, we headed to Portland to do some sight seeing. We visited the Oregon Historical Museum, the Japanese Gardens, and then the International Rose Test Garden. We had lunch at a "cartlandia" set-up in downtown Portland fueling us up for our three hour walking tour of the city.
After the tour, we headed over the Coastal Mountains to the coast of Oregon for an overnight stay at Seaside. On Tuesday, we clammed in some pretty rough conditions of rain and wind resulting in a paltry take of 10 clams for our whole party. We ended the day on a better note by vising a salt water taffy store and purchasing two pounds of all kinds of flavored taffy.
Wednesday, we spent the day close to home in Albany, visiting several antique shops and stores. That evening there was a Riverside Baptist teen and college group get together. It was a catered event for Blake's birthday followed by a game of kickball.
Thursday was a rainy day, so we decided to go to Brownsville, OR to visit the Pioneer Museum followed by a drive to Lebanon where we walked the streets visiting their shops.
Friday saw the rain end, so we headed east over the Cascade Mountains through the Santiam Pass to visit Sisters OR and Bend OR. In Sisters, we had breakfast at Sisters Coffee and visited the many shops. We finished the city off with a milkshake from Sno Cap and got in the car for the trip to Bend, OR where we visited the High Desert Museum.
On Saturday, we went to Corvallis to their Farmer's Market and visited a few shops followed by lunch at an Indian restaurant. We ended our night at the Blake-famous Chinese restaurant -- Yummy House.
The visit ended Sunday with an early four in the morning trip to the airport to catch our flight back to Boston.
Pictures of our trip are posted to right.
Tuesday, February 16, 2016
Mom's 70th
For my mom's birthday, Rachelle organized a "surprise" party with her family, the NY Gangwers, and us CT Gangwers all driving to the VT Gangwers for the Friday party. We spent the whole weekend there which was one of extreme cold (negative temperatures with even colder wind chills). Tammy and I spent Friday night sleeping at the church then Saturday at the house once the NY Gangwers left. Some pictures are posted to the right. They are not that great because trying to get that many people to be still was impossible. Somebody was always moving.
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